Dick Tracy by Mike Curtis and Charles Ettinger for August 24, 2009

But Detective Tracy, your prints are all over them.

And when pray tell, did the ROOM WITH A WINDOW AND TABLE materialize in the main tent?

It’s magic, I tell you!

Tracy doesn’t care what clowns are supposed to do, he has to hurry and solve a murder.

Yeah, the lab is going to get the results in like 10 seconds. Just like on CSI!

Remember kids, solving a murder is like eating Liver. Do it quickly!!

For me, the clown it’s a a FBI agent undercover.

Just another clown from Washington.

Do I smell something burning. Is that smoke behind your head Mr. Pops. Uh oh, Mr. Pops, I think your hair is on fire!

Is that a tent in the second panel or stairs leading to nowhere?

That’s Lt. Tevo cleverly disguised as a window.

Everybody touched those notes..I want to sell plastic gloves to Dick Tracy

The only positive thing about DT strips is the artwork.

On top of finding out who the murderer is, Dick should also try to figure out who is being held for RANSOM. He keeps mentioning a “ransom note”, so he must still be one step ahead of all of us with his keen skills. Why ask for a ransom and then kill somebody else?? Great Story!!!!!!

Detective Tracy? Police lab here. Based on fingerprint analysis, we have a much larger crime spree on our hands than we thought. Some of the prints on those not-a-ransom notes match evidence from several earlier cases - the “matrix pack” playing cards, some bottles of that nasty perfume/jet fuel blend; heck, these same prints are on the nether regions of ol’ Traze-R (Robo-Dick himself). We even found them on that credit card statement where Tess found the purchase of an iPhone that she says she doesn’t remember buying.

Some shifty criminal is bamboozling us!

Perhaps the lab boys can find out why Tracy’s hand shrunk!!!

A clue ? A real clue ? This is the first one our hero has managed to get in nearly four years working as a detective for Chief Lizz and the Naperville Police Commissioner Locher.

In that time he’s had only “hunches” to work with. Good thing he gets them in “bunches”, as magically they work every time, And they’ll never report back on the finger print results, Com. Locher has forgotten all about it already.

The Naperville Police are taking on many nation-wide crimes now, Com. Locher’s already put Tracy on four cased connected to the CIA or the FBI in Washington in just three years. Tracy’s skills in “hunches” are in demand

The clown’s ear is not merely swollen to twice its normal size – there’s a big S on it. It’s Superear!

He can hear the plot crumbling.

-Cougar :{)

It’s bad enough that you are going over your case strategy with the suspects all in the room. But one of your suspects is literally a clown.

I have to know how Tracy knew a circus poster was cut up and the letters removed. Must have been doing some snooping prior to his recreation of an Agatha Christy scene where they all gather in the library so he can name the killer.

The entertainment in this strip has been reduced to nothing more than trying to spot how many flaws there are each day. It’s like a “What’s wrong with this picture?” game.

BB - sorry, missed your post on “saving” the strip. I initially started posting with suggestions but was quickly shot down by the PG stating The Editors would not allow anything but what untalented drivel was being published.

What are your fantasy parameters? I would like to see: an artist that can draw hands, a decent crime writer, a plot that makes sense, other characters, pacing, some type of continuity with the actions and behavior of the Dick Tracy with whom I grew up. If the strip really is circling around the drain in its last days, bring back some of the best bad guys for a victory lap (I’m rooting for Pucker Puss).

The elephant is the killer – he’s tired of working for peanuts; the clown works for the FBI. It’s all sort of poetic justice!

Clowns on the Left, Joker to the Right…

Stuck in the middle with youuu……..

couple of bleeep good hand renderings there

Is there some sort of contest I’ve never heard of where the goal is to put as many continuity and logic errors into a comic strip as possible? Because I think we have a winner.

BB…I think that everyone has already responded with the correct answers. It’s obvious that the editors don’t care…otherwise they would not let these continuity errors go on. The first thing I would like to see done is for the strip’s “family” be re-instituted. Sam, Lizz, Junior (the Real Deal) and others that have been left at the wayside. The characterizations have always made the strip, and there is none of that now! The writing has got to get better…it’s always the same old thing: Tracy gets involved…the FBI or CIA gets involved…the SWAT Team gets involved…story ends! The only alternative we ever get are these mystery stories with their mystery villains which cannot possibly work in a comic strip story.

And of course, the artwork. Continuity works hand-in-hand with the artwork…consistancy in character design while stimulating the reader with different shots and angles. I thought when Brozman started, things would change, and they have pretty much remained the same.

If someone began paying some attention to all of these items, the strip may begin picking up papers again!

Who knows…?

I wonder if this clown is a pedophile behind that evil looking makeup?

BB: I’m just a lurker around here, but my feeling is that the strip should be retired. I don’t think any strip should continue after its creator either retires or dies. Make room for someone else to come up with a great original strip like Gould once did.

@andyh40: Don’t hold your breath. I sent a civil email to Tribune Media’s Facebook account asking why the strip was allowed to remain so bad (and pointed to the consistently negative comments here as proof), but never heard back. It doesn’t make any sense, but it seems like they just don’t care about having this iconic property rot away as it has been.

Captainzero has made the best suggestion yet…. This strip is a zero and shouldn’t continue. It’s an insult to it’s creator.

BB, the only way to improve this strip is to put a creative team in place that cares. Care about writing a good story and has some pride in their craft. Consistency is non-existent and there are way too many sloppy mistakes.

If that can’t be done, kill off Tracy and let us have some GREAT memories.

andyh40,

Great summarization of where the strip’s at. Problem is, no one who should, seems to care one fig. Least of all Locher.

I’m finding it increasingky difficult to take the current offering seriously, any more. At least there is some “relief” in trying to poke fun at what IS the worst quality Tracy, TMS has ever allowed to “pass” through their Editors.

BB, I think it’s beyond recovery. When I joined the discussion, it was because I thought I’d discovered something from my past - and we’re going back to the 1940’s. It was in another website. And once it became obvious that Gould’s work had been turned into comic “hackdom”, I began to complain, as my long-lost friend, Sparkydog77 and a few others whom you might remember. We all knew the strip had seen its number coming up. But emerged was a TOTAL HACK, in the form of a poster! I actually got up in the morning to read his non-stop rants from the night before. Then, I’d flip over to the Yahoo Group and he was 24/7’ing there, too! There, Sydney tried unsuccessfully in check. He let you know pretty quickly that he was in charge and consulted with Locher - and also had the insight to future stories. He was priveledged, as well as holding a coveted seat on DT’s Museum Board. He was a riot! And, in tow, along came his cohort, whom we affectionately call Dorothy. But what hooked my heart was your parody, “Planet of the Magpies” and “Beneath the Planet………”. You did more for this old man than you will ever imagine. There are several friends that were made here and several are lasting. I’ve never met you, and I doubt if we ever will cross paths, but you hold a special place on my ladder of admiration.

In response to your question, it is beyond hope!.

Morrow

Sydney Phillips said…

“I’m finding it increasingly difficult to take the current offering seriously”

Post of the night, Sydney. It’s really sad to see what a mess this once-proud strip has become, and it just gets worse and worse. And the worst part of all, as several posters have noted, is that nobody who has anything to do with the strip seems to care.